On 4 April a memorial concert will be held at the Musikverein to celebrate the work of jazz musican and composer Fritz Pauer. This date was initially booked last spring for the Fritz Pauer Trio, featuring Johannes Strasser on bass and Joris Dudli on drums, following Pauer’s impressive duo performance at the Musikverein with Sheila […]

On 3 April violinist Joshua Bell will make his Vienna debut in his official capacity as music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bell and the renowned London-based chamber orchestra will perform at the Musikverein. Works include Max Bruch’s “Violin Concerto”, and Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s “Scottish’ Symphony”. Bell played his first concert with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields […]

On Ash Wednesday just past, the U.S. Embassy, the Austrian Foreign Ministry and Diplomatische Akademie Wien joined forces to celebrate the 175th anniversary of U.S.-Austrian diplomatic relations with a Gala Event which, not incidentally, featured music performed by the Jon Sass Group, a multi-national quartet led by American jazz tuba(!) exponent Jon Sass. Perhaps inspired […]

“China Meets Austria” at the Musikverein is a night of symphonies, part of the greater Chinese Spring Festival, which aims to foster cultural connections between the young generations of the two countries. A mix of Chinese and Austrian musicians and orchestras will perform, including youth groups. Highlights of the eclectic programme include “In the Hall […]

Herbert Willi is a small man with a shock of white hair, a slight build and calm, blue eyes. He agreed to meet just after the Wednesday rehearsal of his violin concerto Sacrosanto that would have its world premiere with soloist Nikolaj Znaider and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) under principal conductor Manfred Honeck one […]

Each year, youth choirs from around the world convene in Vienna to give concerts in conjunction with the Vienna Boys Choir. The closing ceremony on 2 Aug in the Musikverein’s Großer Saal is a culmination of the festival’s events, which include workshops and performances at Schönbrunn and at the United Nations Headquarters. The festival was founded by […]

Cynthia Yeh is the principle percussionist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Petit and powerful, what a symbol for women’s liberation! With three brisk shakes of the maracas, she opened the Musikverein’s 200th concert season at the beginning of September: Two memorable evenings of the Chicago Symphony under Riccardo Muti. The Chicago is one of the […]

Gustav Mahler died 100 years ago this month, on May 18, 1911. And as concert planners will do, they have designated the centenary of his passing Mahler Year in his honor. For Mahler fans all over the world, performances of his music abound: there is a bewildering choice of upcoming events to choose from. And […]

The Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna (RSO) was nearly sacked last year. Now they are securely and legally part of the ORF, with the express purpose, among other things, to play and record contemporary Austrian composers. But they are not leaning back, with a sigh of relief – pressure off, business as usual – as others […]

THE VIENNA REVIEW is a publication of Vienna Review Publishing GmbH, Vienna, Austria, a journal of news, culture, lifestyle and opinion covering the life and times of Vienna, Austria and the wider Central Europen region. It is published in English.